


Something Tells Me the Tide’ll Be Turning

by nottheleastbrave



Series: Ain't it a fine (after)life [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Mercer Has Anxiety (Julie and the Phantoms), Can be read as a stand alone, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Good Parent Ray Molina, HEA or GTFO, M/M, Ray Molina Adopts The Phantoms, overuse of the Velveteen Rabbit as a metaphorical device, probably, unironic use of Wonderwall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29045571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nottheleastbrave/pseuds/nottheleastbrave
Summary: Alex is happy to be alive again, but Willie's still dead, and that's a little stressful. Luckily, a couple of his friends have experience with this exact situation.Or, Willex asks Juke (and also Ray) for relationship advice.Title, as always, from Newsies.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Series: Ain't it a fine (after)life [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2130894
Comments: 10
Kudos: 70





	Something Tells Me the Tide’ll Be Turning

**Author's Note:**

> I realized that I left Willex hanging at the end of Promise, which clearly could not stand. So here we are. 
> 
> Originally this was just supposed to be fluffy and funny, but then the angst arrived and there was nothing I could do about it. 
> 
> You can probably read this as a stand alone, but reading the previous fic would help. Basically just know that:  
> \- Luke sacrificed himself and was trapped in the HGC  
> \- it sucked for everyone  
> \- they rescued him and destroyed Caleb  
> \- Luke, Alex, and Reggie came back to life somehow  
> \- Willie is still a ghost  
> \- no one understands ghost powers (especially the author)
> 
> Oh also for purposes of this fic Wonderwall came out before the boys died.

Alex is so happy to be alive. It’s a miracle, and Julie Molina is the miracle worker. They don’t exactly know how she did it, but she’s definitely magic. Alex isn’t sure how they ended up back in that garage, but it’s easily the best thing that ever happened to them. And he can still see Willie, thank god. Julie can’t touch him, but the rest of them can. And other people can see Willie if he's performing, due to some leftover magic from the Hollywood Ghost Club. He and Willie can still go on dates, and hold hands, and even kiss – 

It’s just, he’s pretty sure he loves Willie. Like, he’s _in love_ with Willie. Not the over-the-top stakes and dramatic declarations they say is love in those telenovelas that Ray and Reggie like to watch (and Reggie is _way_ too invested in those, in Alex’s opinion), but real love. Quiet and steady and calming but still so _much_ he almost can’t stand it. 

And if that weren’t enough to send him into a complete spiral, Willie is still a _ghost._ Alex is alive, and Willie is dead. It’s a completely ridiculous and unsustainable situation. How is he supposed to deal with this? A LIFER in love with a GHOST. It’s unprecedented. It’s insane. He’s probably the first person in history who…

Oh.

OH.

Wait. 

He needs to talk to Julie.

_____________

Willie and Luke are in the garage, each holding a guitar. Luke has been teaching him how to play, as a surprise for Alex. It’s pretty slow going, since they only practice when everyone else is out, but Julie and Carlos are at school and Alex is helping Reggie with some project for Ray so they have the garage to themselves. And Willie likes playing guitar more than he thought he would. It’s not quite as good as skateboarding, or screaming in museums, but it’s a good stress release. And he thinks it’s going to make Alex really happy.

(Willie suspects that Luke feels better after these practice sessions, too, but for a different reason. He is, after all, the only person that Luke knows who has also spend extended time in the Hollywood Ghost Club, and sometimes they talk about it. Those talks help both of them, he thinks.)

But today there’s something else Willie wants to talk to Luke about. 

“Hey Luke?” he says, and Luke looks up from the acoustic guitar he’s tuning, pick in his mouth. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah of course, Willie. What’s up?” And shit, Luke has to remember that he’s alive now and can actually choke, or that guitar pick is going to kill him a second time. 

“Umm, how did you…I mean, were you…” Damn it, Willie, get it together. “How did you and Julie handle it while you were still a ghost?” The pick falls out of Luke’s mouth. 

“What?”

“Because, I really care about Alex. _So much._ But you guys are alive now, and I’m still _dead,_ and maybe that’s not fair? Like maybe I should let Alex move on, find someone else that other people can actually see when they go out, someone who can –“ 

“Woah, bro, slow down. You’re starting to sound like Alex.” Luke puts a hand on his arm, stopping his rambling. “Alex likes _you_ Willie, he doesn’t want to date anyone else.” 

“But how did you figure it out with Julie?” asks Willie desperately. 

“I didn’t, man,” laughs Luke ruefully. “I tried and failed to keep my distance and then she kissed me right before I got trapped in the Hollywood Ghost Club and almost got erased from existence. I don’t necessarily recommend it.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” says Willie. “And I guess you two don’t have to worry about it anymore. Do you really have no idea now Julie brough you all back?” 

“Nah,” says Luke sadly. Then he brightens. “Although, has Alex kissed you yet? Like, for real? Because that worked pretty well for me and Jules.” And _holy shit, is he serious?_

“Luke, I don’t think that’s what did it,” Willie says slowly. “Julie kissed you _before_ you even got trapped in the HGC, remember? And as far as I know she’s never kissed Reggie or Alex.” He shakes his head. “You two don’t have magic kisses, man. It must have been something else that brought you back.” 

“Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right,” says Luke, deflating. And he looks so genuinely disappointed that he and Julie don’t have _literal life-saving kisses full of ghost magic_ that Willie almost actually face palms. Why did he think talking to Luke would help, again? 

But then Luke shakes himself and seems to refocus. 

“But honestly, dude. Just talk to Alex,” he says, looking at Willie seriously. “Yeah, it’s a little messy. But everything in life is messy, and the bad stuff doesn’t make it worth missing out on all the good stuff. I almost missed out on anything with Julie because I was too afraid to tell her how I felt. And besides, Alex has the right to make his own decisions about what he can and can’t handle. So be honest with him, and ask him how he feels about it.” Willie narrows his eyes suspiciously. 

“That was actually pretty articulate, you writing a song about this or something?” 

“Nah, just some things Julie said to me, after everything happened.” And Luke has that absolutely ridiculous and besotted expression he always gets when he talks about Julie. _Is that how I look when I talk about Alex?_ thinks Willie. _Probably._ he concedes, but only to himself. 

“Well, thanks man. I’ll talk to him.” Luke just nods and picks up his guitar again.

“Good. Now let’s get back to practicing, those calluses aren’t going to form themselves.”

_____________

Julie’s bedroom door is open, and she’s sitting on her bed doing homework. It looks like math, and Julie is grimacing at her paper. Alex knocks on the doorframe to get her attention.

“Hey Julie? Can I talk to you?” She jumps a little bit, and Alex feels kind of bad. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I can come back later, if you’re busy.” 

“No no, Alex, it’s fine. I needed a break anyway.” Julie puts her pencil down and closes her worksheet inside her math book. “What’s up?” 

“Well, you know how I’m dating Willie?”

“Um, yes Alex. I know you’re dating Willie. We’ve been on double dates together, remember? And he practically lives here.” Julie looks a little confused, which he supposes is fair. 

“Okay. Yeah. Well, Willie’s still dead, and I’m obviously not? Anymore? And I guess I was just wondering how you and Luke…dealt with all that. While we were still ghosts, I mean.” The worst part over with, Alex collapses in Julie’s desk chair, looking at her hopefully. He feels a bit guilty putting this on her, but she’s solved so many of their other problems, why not this one too? 

“Um, not very well, to be honest,” says Julie. Then she smirks. “But that was mostly Luke’s fault.” Alex laughs. 

“I have no doubt. What did he do?” 

“He wouldn’t admit his feelings!” says Julie, falling back on her bed dramatically. “Which was ridiculous, since he’s he least subtle person I’ve ever met.” 

“Oh believe me, I know. Do you know how many detentions he used to get for ‘attitude problems?’ And he was shocked every time.” They both laugh at Luke’s expense, but Alex can’t help teasing Julie a little bit too. “But Jules, you weren’t much better. Both of you were just constantly pining, it was painful to watch.” 

“Yeah, I know,” she sighs. “But I wish he had just _talked_ to me. We were both so worried about the same things, it probably would have done the most good to talk to each other. We were on the same page already and we didn’t even know it.” 

“What do you wish you’d said to him?” asks Alex softly. 

“That I thought it was worth it. That _he_ was worth it, even though it was complicated,” says Julie seriously. “That I wanted to enjoy the time we had, even though it might not last forever.” Alex reaches over and squeezes her hand. 

“You’re really good for him, you know that?”

“Thanks, Alex.” The sit there quietly for another minute, before Julie says, “Do you love him?” 

And if it were anyone else, Alex would probably stammer and blush, and maybe even deny it. But it’s _Julie,_ and he trusts her. 

“Yeah, I think I do.” And Julie smiles at him, and he smiles back. 

“You should tell Willie, then,” she says. 

“I will, thanks Jules.” Julie goes back to her math homework, and Alex starts tidying up some of the study materials strewn about her desk. It’s nice, just sitting there working in silence. But then Julie gives him a look, and yeah, he’s stalling. 

“Was there something else, Alex?” And shit she’s being so nice and Alex really does feel bad about this next question.

“Do you have any idea how you brought us back?” he says in a rush, wincing apologetically. But Julie gets that sad look on her face that she gets whenever she feels like she isn’t doing enough (which is crazy, since she’s _literally magic_ ). 

“No, I’m so sorry, Alex. I wish I could figure it out. I didn’t mean to make things harder for you and Willie.” She looks so apologetic and _oh shit_ that’s not what he meant at all. 

“Hey, hey it’s not your fault. None of us understand any of this, and you’re still the most powerful person I know,” he says, patting her leg. He hopes it’s reassuring. Julie thinks for a minute and then asks,

“Did you ever read the book the Velveteen Rabbit when you were a kid?” Which is really not what Alex was expecting her to say. 

“Yeah, why?”

“Flynn has a theory that that’s kind of what happened.” She turns on the bed to face him directly, and starts gesturing with her hands. “Like, it wasn’t a specific thing that any of us did that brought you all back, it was just that we kept loving each other, like, over time. And eventually it turned you real.” 

“Huh, I guess that makes sense.” Alex wrinkles his nose. “Wait, doesn’t the little boy lose the rabbit at the end? Because of the scarlet fever?”

“What? No!” says Julie indignantly. “The fairy turns the velveteen rabbit into an actual rabbit, and the boy thinks he recognizes it the next spring. It’s nice!”

“It’s depressing,” he says. Then Julie throws a pillow at him, and he throws one back, and they kind of devolve into a full-on pillow war for a few minutes. 

But eventually Julie has to get back to her homework, and he really should go find Willie. So he thanks Julie again, and starts to make his way to the beach.

_____________

“So did Alex come talk to you?”

“Yup. Did Willie talk to you?”

“Yup. Hope those crazy kids work it out.” 

“Alex is four months older than you, Luke.”

“They’re so young, so inexperienced –” 

“Willie was born in the SIXTIES.” 

“I remember when we were young and in love –“

“Oh my god.” 

“Before we got old and boring –“ 

“Shut _up_ , Patterson.”

“Make me, Molina.” 

“Hey are you guys ready to watch – oh for fuck’s sake, not again. Get a room!” 

“Get your own room, Reginald.”

_____________

Willie hasn’t been waiting at the beach for very long when he sees Alex walking towards him, snapback cap on backwards and his hands stuffed into the pocket of his pink hoodie. _Fuck he’s so cute._

Alex gives him a quick kiss before sitting down next to him on the sand. They’re at their usual spot at the far end of the beach where it’s pretty deserted, and no one will notice if it looks like Alex is talking to himself. They spend some time just chatting about everything and nothing: Ray’s cooking misadventures, a new skate trick Willie’s learned, Carlos and Reggie’s latest prank. Everything feels relaxed and golden, and Willie is so glad they get days like this now. No agenda, no Caleb breathing down their necks, nobody watching them. But Alex clearly has something on his mind, and Willie has a suspicion he knows what it is. 

“So I talked to Julie today,” begins Alex, clearly feeling anxious. 

“Oh yeah? I talked to Luke today too,” replies Willie. Alex chuckles and mumbles something that Willie can’t quite catch about “already on the same page,” but it seems to relax him. 

“Was he helpful?” asks Alex doubtfully. 

“He was, actually,” says Willie with a laugh, “but probably not as helpful as Julie. What did she say?” Alex takes a deep breath, and looks out at the ocean. 

“She talked about what she wished she’d been able to say to Luke, while we were still dead. And she said that we should talk about stuff, because we’re probably worrying about the same things.” Alex and Willie look at each other a bit ruefully. They’ve been dancing around this for a while now, putting off a conversation they know is going to be painful. But it’s time. 

“Yeah, Luke said something similar,” replies Willie quietly. “Said I should let you make decisions for yourself. But Alex, I’m _dead,_ and you’re not.” Alex flinches, and Willie feels bad, but someone needed to rip off the band-aid and it almost certainly wasn’t going to be Alex. So Willie plows ahead. “And if that’s too hard, I won’t blame you. I get it, and you deserve to be happy.” 

“Woah hey what are you talking about? I _am_ happy. I’m not going anywhere. Unless you want me too?” says Alex a bit frantically. And _fuck_ Willie is screwing this up already. 

“No! No, of course not. I never want you to go anywhere,” says Willie, grabbing Alex’s hand. “I want to be with you as long as I can, I just don’t know how long that is.” 

“You could come back. We came back, Willie.”

“Yeah, but you had Julie.” Now that Willie has started talking about this, he can’t seem to stop. “I didn’t come back the same way you guys did, I just showed up with my skateboard one day. There isn’t a lifer linked to my soul.”

“You have me,” says Alex, looking as serious as Willie has ever seen him. “I may not be Julie, but I am alive. Maybe I’m linked to your soul.” And god, usually Alex is the crier in their relationship, but Willie can feel his resolve cracking. Alex is just _so good_ and Willie doesn’t understand how he could possibly have done anything to deserve him. 

“Do you think so?” asks Willie hesitantly. 

“I hope so,” answers Alex. Then he takes a deep breath and looks Willie straight in the eyes and says, “I love you, Willie.” And Willie goes completely still. As the silence stretches longer, Alex’s eyes go very wide. “You don’t have to say it back! I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything, I just…wanted you to know.” But Willie still feels frozen. 

“Do you really?” he says in a small voice. 

“Yeah, Willie, of course I do.”

“Oh.” And Willie is honestly having a bit of a crisis. “But…I don’t…deserve it,” he says very softly. Alex’s eyebrows furrow together. 

“Willie, what? That’s not how this works. I love you, that’s it. You don’t have to do anything, just accept it, if you want to.” 

“Okay…okay.” Willie takes a deep breath. “I love you too, Alex.” And Alex grins like he’s the actual sun. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh thank fuck,” says Alex with a relieved laugh, reaching out and grabbing Willie’s face to kiss him. And _yeah,_ Willie thinks, _thank fuck._

The afternoon turns relaxed and golden again. But Willie notices the sun going down. 

“Do you want to head back home?” he asks. 

“Not yet. Can we just…sit here for a little while longer?” says Alex, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the few clouds in the sky. 

“Sure thing, babe.” And Alex’s face turns red. He _always_ blushes when Willie calls him babe, it’s awesome. 

Soon they’re both lying on their backs, holding hands and watching the clouds go by up above. It’s nice, and Willie almost feels like everything will be okay. But a part of him still knows that none of this is guaranteed, and he’s suddenly desperate to show Alex how much he means to him. 

Luckily Willie knows just the person who can help.

_____________

Alex feels better after his talk with Willie, but he still doesn’t feel _great._ He wants other people to be able to see his amazing boyfriend, okay? So sue him. He would also like his boyfriend to not be dead, but that’s stressful, so he tends to focus on the invisibility issue.

Ray is preparing dinner in the kitchen, so Alex asks him if he needs any help, which Ray gratefully accepts. Don’t tell Reggie this, but hanging out with Ray really DOES usually help him feel better. So Alex starts chopping vegetables for the salad, but something in his behavior must give him away because Ray puts down the spices he was collecting and says,

“Is something bothering you, mijo?” And to be honest, Ray’s use of “mijo” almost sends Alex right over the edge, but he keeps it together enough to reply. 

“I’ve just been worried about Willie,” he says quietly.

“Is he alright? Is everything okay?” says Ray with genuine concern, and _fuck_ Alex never thought he would get this, not from a parent. Because Ray knows exactly how Alex feels about Willie, and it’s never been an issue. In fact, Ray has welcomed Willie into their strange little family the same way he did the rest of them, even though he can’t even _see_ Willie all the time. 

“Yeah, yeah. He’s fine.” Alex takes a deep breath before continuing. “Or, well, he’s still dead, so not completely fine. And I’m not. Dead, I mean, and it sucks.” Ray nods for him to continue, and Alex will never understand how Ray instinctively knows when he needs to keep talking and when he needs to be pulled out of a spiral, but he always does. “I talked to Julie about it, and she was really helpful, but she and Luke don’t have to worry about that anymore, so all that advice feels kind of short term? And Willie and I talked about it, which was good, and we’re on the same page and everything, but I still wish he was _alive._ ” 

“And what page is that, exactly?” asks Ray quietly. Alex goes bright red. 

“Oh um…that even though it’s a little complicated it’s worth it.” He pauses for a long moment. “And that we love each other.” And even though Ray has been nothing but supportive, a part of Alex is still bracing for disapproval. But Ray just grins with his whole face. 

“That’s wonderful, Alex. He’s a good boy, and so are you. You bring out the best in each other.” 

“Thanks,” says Alex in a whisper, staring at his un-chopped vegetables very intently. He is _not_ going to cry in this kitchen. Not again. 

“Did Julie tell you Flynn’s Velveteen Rabbit theory?” asks Ray. Alex shudders. 

“Yeah, but to be honest, I always hated that book. It made me convinced I was going to infect all my toys with horrible diseases.” Ray barks out a loud laugh at that, and then looks kind of sheepish, so Alex smiles at him to let him know it’s okay. He knows he’s ridiculous, that’s not news. “It’s not a bad theory, though. Certainly no worse than anything else we’ve come up with.” 

“Maybe you two just need time, mijo. You haven’t been alive for very long. But if love is what does it, I think it’s safe to say you’re well on your way.” Ray gives him a reassuring pat on the back. Alex nods, a little shakily. They go back to dinner prep for a minute before Ray speaks up again. “You know I set up a google alert, when you all first clued me in to the real story.” 

“A what?” asks Alex. He’s doing his best to get caught up on current technology, but some things still elude him. 

“It’s like, a reminder, but for a certain internet search. So any time there’s something new that matches what I searched, I get an email about it.” Alex nods to show he’s following. “I set one for scholarly articles about bringing ghosts back to life. So far I haven’t found anything useful, and you three boys came back anyway, but I’ve kept it up, just in case there was something that could help Willie. I’ll keep you posted.” 

And for some reason, that’s what does Alex in. He bursts into tears ( _fuck_ he’s crying in the kitchen again). Ray’s eyes widen, and he carefully takes the vegetable knife out of Alex’s hand and pulls him into a hug (they’re never going to get dinner done at this rate). Alex wraps his arms around Ray’s waist and buries his face in his chest. He eventually stops crying, but Ray doesn’t let go until Alex pulls back on his own. 

“Sorry, Ray. Um, I ruined your shirt.” 

“It’s fine, mijo, it’s just saltwater,” says Ray, laughing softly. “But are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Thank you, for looking out for Willie. And for…everything else.” He still has trouble putting it all into words, but Ray gives him another quick hug, so Alex thinks he gets it. 

Two days later Alex and Willie are out on a date, and Alex tells him about the google alert. It probably seems like such a small thing to the Molina patriarch, but it really does mean a lot to Alex, and he can tell it will mean a lot to Willie too. Because when he tells him about it, Willie’s eyes go big and he pulls his sweatshirt down over his hands and asks,

“But you three came back? He doesn’t need it anymore.” And Willie looks so genuinely baffled that Alex takes his hand and squeezes. 

“He said he kept it up for you,” replies Alex simply. 

“Oh,” says Willie, impossibly soft. And Willie smiles in a way that makes Alex think he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. 

“He says he hasn’t found anything useful yet, just a lot of stuff about Ouija boards, but he’ll let us know if he does,” says Alex, trying to dispel the heaviness of the moment a bit. “But honestly I think Flynn’s Velveteen Rabbit theory might end up being the right one.” 

“The one where the kid has to burn all his toys?” Willie says. “That book is so depressing.” 

“Yes! Thank you!” says Alex, throwing up his hands. “Nobody else gets it. Apparently, it’s a favorite in the Molina house.” 

“…why?” asks Willie, grimacing. 

“I really don’t know,” laughs Alex. Man, talking to Willie always makes everything better. And because he can, and he does, Alex says, “I love you.” And Willie just grins, and kisses him. For a long time.

All in all, a very successful date. 

A couple weeks later, Alex finds himself at an open mic night at a small club in the city. Alex had voted for a quiet movie marathon at home, but Luke had been weirdly insistent about going, and then Julie and Reggie had said they wanted to go too, and it was actually impossible to resist _all three_ of them at once. (Also, Willie is busy tonight. Because while he may love his friends, he would definitely ditch them for his boyfriend. He _loves_ his boyfriend.) 

And it starts out pretty fun. The performers aren’t bad, and it’s actually nice being part of the audience for once. Luke and Julie become useless pretty quickly, and keep just quietly singing along and staring into each other’s eyes. It’s nauseating. But he and Reggie stand off to one side and mock them, so that’s pretty fun. 

He’s mid eye-roll at something Reggie’s said when Luke suddenly grabs his arm, a horrifyingly large grin on his face. 

“Check out the stage, man, I think you’re really going to like this next act!” he yells in Alex’s ear. Alex looks at Julie for some sort of explanation but she’s grinning too, and so is Reggie, and for fuck’s sake is this a conspiracy? 

But then he hears a very familiar voice from the front of the club and he forgets about his friends completely. 

“What’s up, everyone! My name is Willie, and I’m not very good at singing, or playing the guitar.” Willie laughs nervously. “But there’s someone here who’s really important to me, and music is really important to him, so I convinced one of his friends to teach me a few things.” 

“You’re welcome!” shouts Luke to Willie. Alex turns to him with wide eyes, and Luke just nods, that shit-eating grin still on his face. Alex turns back towards the stage. 

“Apologies for the cliché song choice, but I have a thing for 90s rock stars. So anyway,” says Willie smirking, “here’s Wonderwall.” And Alex has heard Wonderwall a thousand times, both before and after he died (and wasn’t that a surprise, that Wonderwall was the song that stuck around from ’95), but listening to Willie it feels brand new. 

Although to be honest, Alex probably couldn’t tell you anything specific about the performance, because once it starts his brain kind of freezes in an endless loop of _Willie-singing-guitar-Willie-singing-guitar._ The line about saving him sticks out, though. 

Then something weird happens at the end of the song. When Willie strums the final chord (and he really isn’t half bad, no matter what he said at the beginning), he kind of freezes, and grips the neck of the guitar much too tightly. He puts his hand to his chest, and Alex panics for a second that Willie is somehow feeling another jolt, even though that shouldn’t even be _possible._ But then Willie smiles, with a kind of awed expression that Alex has never seen before, and leans back into the mic. 

“Thanks for indulging me, everyone. And Alex? My heart only beats for you, babe.” And Alex’s eyes go wide and his brain is short circuiting but he manages to mouth _really?_ and Willie nods and just mouths _yeah_ back to him. 

And in a heartbeat (a heartbeat!) Alex has pushed his way through the crowd to the stage and he grabs Willie’s face and _kisses him_ and Willie kisses him back and they’re both laughing and crying and somewhere in the back of the club he can hear Luke whooping and can see Julie jumping on Reggie’s back and cheering and everyone here probably thinks they’re insane but Alex could truly not possibly give less of a shit. 

Maybe he should give the Velveteen Rabbit another chance. It’s not the worst story.

**Author's Note:**

> Willie's alive again! Hooray! How did it happen? The power of love! Or something! Who cares! 
> 
> In case you're curious, I actually fall somewhere between Willex and the Molinas about the Velveteen Rabbit. It made me really sad and stressed as a kid, but I was also kind of obsessed with it? I guess I've been all about the angst since day 1. 
> 
> Thanks, as always, for reading! Love you all.


End file.
